Riveiro: The Job Is Not Done

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro insists the job is not done following a 2-0 victory over Botswana champions Jwaneng Galaxy in the first leg of their CAF Champions League second preliminary round tie on Saturday.
Following their shock early elimination from the competition at the hands of Morena Ramoreboli’s troops last season, the Buccaneers now have one foot into the group stages and have secured two crucial away goals.
The Spanish mentor has made an honest admission on their shock exit last campaign, saying it was difficult to accept the situation and remains optimistic about his side’s chances of progressing to the next stage of the continental competition.
“It was painful not going to the group stages last season,” said Riveiro.
“The reason is that Jwaneng was better than us, now we have the opportunity to go to the group stages and we have the same opponent in front of us one year later. “We went through many different things when we got eliminated last year. It was difficult to accept. Immediately after that, this team was capable of winning the MTN8 final against Mamelodi Sundowns, that’s how these guys came back.
“Now with the result on our side, it’s easy to say we did it well, but I think we have to be happy not only with the result but also with the way the team competed against a difficult side.”
However, the Bucs coach says the job is not done yet with the second leg of the tie on the horizon while he shifts his focus to their first Betway Premiership encounter of the season when they host Chippa United at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.
“It’s only the first half, we still have to play 90 minutes in Orlando, ” Riveiro said.
“In the middle of that process, we still have to play our first game in the league, for now, we celebrate for a couple of hours then we start preparing for Chippa United.”
The two-time MTN8 and Nedbank Cup-winning coach is adamant that the Soweto giants won’t head into the return leg of their continental challenge thinking about the lead and advantage they have going into the match.
“After Chippa we will turn back to Jwaneng again, prepare for the game as good as we can to win the game. We are not thinking about the lead we have, we want to win every match where we are involved, respecting our opponents.”
The Sea Robbers will host the Botswana giants at Orlando Stadium on Saturday, 21 September, to reach the group stages of the CAF Champions League for the first time since the 2018/19 season under Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic.